Wheel cover



Nov. 12, 1935.

F. G A l' TA WHEEL COVER Filed May 11, 1955 Patented Nov. 12, 1935 P TENT OFFICE WHEEL COVER Fillberto cam, Turin, Italy- Applicatlon May 11, 1935, Serial No. 21,032 Iii-Italy June 5, 1934 4 Claims. (Cl. 301-37) This invention relates to a covering and protecting device for motor vehicle wheels and more particularly to a means of securing said device, which is cheap in manufacture and smart in appearance.

The object of this invention is to provide a covering and protecting device which is' applied to the hub or other wheel part by pressure in an axial direction and fixed in position by snapping means acting in a radial direction.

Another object of this invention is to provide on the wheel prongs arranged along a circumference and to form in the cover a peripheral groove into which said prongs can be caused to snap by pushing the cover towards the wheel.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for fixing the cover to the hub, which do not require any machining of their mutually engaging surfaces, thus further reducing the cost of manufacture. For this purpose I form on the front end of the wheel by cutting or pressing on one and the same circumference prongs directed under a certain inclination from the center towards the periphery and in the cover a shallow inner groove engaging said prongs when the cover is pushed towards the wheel.

The cover is easily removable by elastic deformation as it can be detached from the wheel by means of a wedge, e. g. the tip of a screw-driver,

introduced between the rim of the cover and the wheel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cover for the wheel hub, of the type above referred to, which extends radially, so as to cover also the spokes or spider of the wheel.

These and further objects of this invention will be more readily understood from the following description where reference is made to the accompanying drawing given by way of example, wherein:

Figure 1 shows the wheel and hub-cover in I rib 3 into a conical surface 4 opposed to the former and ending by the rim 5 of which the edge is bent to form a sleeve 6. The wheel is secured by means of the usual holes in.the rim 5 to the pins on the hub (not shown).

Three C-shaped cuts are made at 120 from each other in the rib 3 and the prongs 1 formed by each cut is bent towards the outside and the periphery of the wheel. 'The prongs 1 are situated substantially on the extension of the conical 5 surface 4.

The hub-cover 8 is of thin sheet metal, preferably brass, and has a bead I0 formed at the periphery of a cylindrical or slightly conical portion 9. In the inner surface of the portion 9 is 10 formed a groove H (see Fig. 3) such that the diameter measured on its bottom corresponds substantially to that .of the circle having its center on the axis of the wheel and passing through the outer edge of the prongs I. In this manner 16 the prongs can be engaged by the groove in the hub cover by overcoming only the outer step l2 of the groove, this taking place by virtue of the elasticity of the material of the hub cover when the latter is pushed towards the wheel. 20

It is .known that in order to increase riding comfort the trend is to increase the diameter of the cross section of the pneumatic tires and consequently decrease the diameter of the wheel rim; on the other hand, in order to increase safety there is a tendency to increase the diameter of the hub to improve the steadiness of the wheel, this resulting in a considerably reduced length of the spokes. In these circumstances, the hub cover according to this invention can be advantageously modified as shown in Fig. 4 in order to serve also as wheel-cover. In said figure the hub cover l3 extends radially to rest by its periphery on the rim I4 of the wheel and cover the spokes I by the annular portion l5; and is fixed to the hub What I claim is: 40

1. In combination, a wheel including a thick sheet metal part, a thin sheet metal cover for said wheel including an internal groove and rigid prongs partly cut oil and. turned out from said 0 thick sheet metal part and engaging said groove in saidcover.

2. In combination, a. wheel including a rigid sheet metal part, an elastic cover for said wheel including an internal groove and rigid prongs partly cut off and turned out from said rigid sheet metal part and engaging said groove in said cover.

3. In a wheel the combination of a sheet metal hub member, an elastic cover member for said hub member pushed towards the prongs on said hub member bent outwardly towards the periphcry of the wheel, said prongs being formed by said prongs being obtained by cutting and bendcutting and pressing the sheet metal or the hub, ing out of the sheet metal material of thehub. an and an annular groove in the cover engaging said annular groove in the cover engaging said prongs prongs when the cover is pushed in an axial (11- when the cover is pushed axially towards the hub rection towards the hub. and a radial peripheral extension on the cover 5 5 4. In a wheel the combination of a rim. a rigid beyond said groove, of which the edge abuts said sheet metal hub member, a cover member for said rim,

hubmember, rigid prongs on said hub bent out- FIHBERTO GA'I'IA. wardly and towards the periphery oi. the wheel. w 

